Helen Keller, October 28, 1904. Photograph showing Keller seated with hand on braille book in her lap as she smells a rose in a vase. Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 - June 1, 1968) was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was 19 mo
Helen Keller, October 28, 1904. Photograph showing Keller seated with hand on braille book in her lap as she smells a rose in a vase. Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 - June 1, 1968) was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was 19 months old when she contracted an illness, which might have been scarlet fever or meningitis, that left her deaf and blind. In 1887 Anne Sullivan, herself visually impaired and only 20 years old, became Keller's instructor. It was the beginning of a 49-year-long relationship, Sullivan evolving into governess and then eventual companion. In 1904, at the age of 24, Keller graduated from Radcliffe, becoming the first deaf blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. A prolific author, Keller was well-traveled, and was outspoken in her anti-war convictions. A member of the Socialist Party of America and the Industrial Workers of the World, she campaigned for women's suffrage, labor rights, socialism, and other radical left causes. In 1920 she helped to found the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Keller traveled to 40 some-odd countries with Sullivan, making several trips to Japan and becoming a favorite of the Japanese people. Keller met every President from Grover Cleveland to Lyndon B. Johnson and was friends with many famous figures, including Alexander Graham Bell, Charlie Chaplin and Mark Twain. Keller suffered a series of strokes in 1961 and spent the last years of her life at her home. She died in her sleep in 1968 at the age of 87. Keller suffered a series of strokes in 1961 and spent the last years of her life at her home. She died in her sleep in 1968 at the age of 87.
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